“The drawings of Druid Temple, Clava Cairns – north and south, and the northern cairn of Clava are lithographs from original etchings by Mr Smart; and I take this opportunity of thanking him for the immense trouble he took to illustrate my paper. The excellence of the work speaks for itself. Mr Smart gave me also valuable assistance and suggestions throughout.”
From Scoto-Celtic Studies, by Alex MacBain.
archive.org/stream/scotocelticstudimacb#page/n0/mode/1up
The wonderful 2.7m monolith.
Scant remains of the central chamber.
Conglomerate stone on the northern arc of the circle.
Stones of the NE arc of the stone circle.
From the NE.
In low autumn light.
Detail of the beautifully graded kerb.
SE arc of the surrounding stone circle.
The near-complete kerb of the cairn.
From the south.
From the Scottish Journal of Topography.. v1, 1847.
archive.org/stream/scottishjournalo12edin#page/n25/mode/1up
Included for its romantic interpretation of what was probably a torc being a druid’s mistletoe secateurs. Canmore’s record suggests its whereabouts is unknown.
canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/13506/details/druidtemple/
The golden kerb viewed beyond a circle stone of this Clava cairn
Note the outsized monolith (a true monster stone) between tree and right hand ‘circle stone.
A ‘circle stone, foreground, with kerb to left.
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It’s in here somewhere...
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Close-up of pink granite with moss
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The SW circle stone.
Looking W showing the largest (2.7m) circle stone.
The site from the SW with some of the circle stones visible.
The NW arc of the kerb.
Just visited this wonderful site and was stunned by it’s beauty. Seems to have been well kept (there was a new gate and the grass was short) and there were no signs of any litter or graffiti. A very special place indeed.
Folk at the farm were very friendly and they were quite happy for me to park at the farm.
Coming into Inverness from the surrounding countryside is a culture shock, to say the least. I mean plastic ‘Nessies’ at the petrol station...c’mon! Since I’m not exactly adept at finding my way around city centres either, the fact that I managed to locate this site is a small miracle in itself. Although perhaps the ‘Druid Temple Crescent’ and housing estate may have helped... a little. Persevere.
Seriously, it would appear the area is being quickly urbanised, so come see the Druid Temple clava cairn before it features beer cans and crisp packets courtesy of local kids. It’s worth it. And then some.
I parked and walked down the farm track and -after receiving permission from a friendly lady in the house -squelched through deep mud to the site situated in a copse behind the farm. A massive monolith dominates the circle enclosing the cairn in clava fashion, the kerb of which is in pretty good condition, too. But it is the atmosphere here which sets Druid Temple apart and makes it so special – the canopy of foliage no doubt helps, perhaps evoking ancient human instincts relating to the times we used to live in such surroundings. To put it simply, I didn’t want to leave.
Handy to access not far from the new extended ringroad (B8082) around Inverness. Follow the “General Wade” road until turning right into the appropriately named Druidtemple Farm.
I asked at the farm for directions and permission to park. They gave me instructions to follow the path behind the farm, which gave fantastic views right across Inverness and the Beauly Firth.
This site is one of these wonderfully atmospheric places now protected by trees.
Probably the best preserved Clava passage grave outside of the guardianship sites at Balnuaran and Corrimony. Unusual SE quadrant (just) orientation.
Six circle stones remain upright, the tallest being 2.7m. The passage and chamber are not too clear now but the kerbstones are well preserved.
Ask at the farm. The route involves three gates including a pedestrian one into the grove containing the site.
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